Acts 7
7
Stephen’s Defense
1Now the #7:1 Probably Caiaphas. See 4:6.high priest asked [Stephen], “Are these charges true?”
2And he answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory [the Shekinah, the radiance of God] appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, [Gen 11:31; 15:7; Ps 29:3] 3and He said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you.’ [Gen 12:1] 4Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, God sent him to this country in which you now live. [Gen 11:31; 12:5; 15:7] 5But He did not give him inheritable property, not even enough ground to take a step on, yet He promised that He would give it to Him as a possession, and to his descendants after him. [Gen 12:7; 17:8; Deut 2:5] 6And this is, in effect, what God spoke [to him]: That his descendants would be aliens (strangers) in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. 7‘And I will judge any nation to whom they will be in bondage,’ said God, ‘and after that they will come out and serve Me [in worship] in this place.’ [Gen 15:13, 14; Ex 3:12] 8And God gave Abraham a covenant [a formal agreement to be strictly observed] of [which] circumcision [was the sign]; and so [under these circumstances] Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac [became the father] of #7:8 Jacob’s name was changed to Israel (Gen 32:28).Jacob, and Jacob [became the father] of the #7:8 Ancestral fathers of the twelve tribes: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.twelve patriarchs. [Gen 17:10-14; 21:2-4; 25:26; 29:31-35; 30:1-24; 35:16-26]
9“The [ten elder] patriarchs, overwhelmed with jealousy, sold [their younger brother] Joseph into [slavery in] Egypt; but God was with him, [Gen 37:11, 28; 45:4] 10and He rescued him from all his suffering, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made Joseph governor over Egypt and over his entire household. [Gen 39:2, 3, 21; 41:40-46; Ps 105:21]
11“Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great distress and our fathers could not find food [for their households and livestock]. [Gen 41:54, 55; 42:5] 12But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. [Gen 42:2] 13And on the second visit Joseph identified himself to his brothers, and Joseph’s family and background were revealed to Pharaoh. [Gen 45:1-4] 14Then Joseph sent and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all. [Gen 45:9, 10] 15And Jacob (Israel) went down into Egypt, and #7:15 Jacob was buried in Abraham’s tomb at Machpelah in Canaan.there he died, as did our fathers; [Gen 49:33] 16and [from Egypt] #7:16 Lit they, i.e. the bodies of Joseph and his brothers.their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. [Gen 50:13; Josh 24:32]
17“But as the time [for the fulfillment] of the promise which God had made to Abraham was approaching, the [Hebrew] people increased and multiplied in Egypt, [Deut 10:22] 18until [the time when] there arose another king over egypt who did not know joseph [nor his history and the merit of his service to Egypt]. [Ex 1:7, 8] 19He shrewdly exploited our race and mistreated our fathers, forcing them to expose their [male] babies so that they would die. [Ex 1:7-11, 15-22] 20It was at this [critical] time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and for three months he was nourished in his father’s house. [Ex 2:2] 21Then when he was set outside [to die], Pharaoh’s daughter rescued him and claimed him for herself, and cared for him as her own son. [Ex 2:5, 6, 10] 22So Moses was educated in all the wisdom and culture of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds. 23But when he reached the age of forty, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. 24And when he saw one [of them] being treated unfairly, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking and killing the Egyptian. 25He expected his countrymen to understand that God was granting them freedom through him [assuming that they would accept him], but they did not understand. 26Then on the next day he suddenly appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong one another?’ 27But the man who was injuring his neighbor pushed Moses away, saying, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge over us? 28Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29At this remark Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he fathered two sons. [Ex 2:11-15, 22; 18:3, 4]
30“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount #7:30 Horeb is the range of mountains of which Sinai is a peak (Ex 3:1).Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. 31When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight; but as he went near to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came [to him, saying]: 32‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. 33Then the Lord said to him, ‘Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground [worthy of reverence and respect]. 34I have most certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Now come, and I will send you to Egypt [as My messenger].’ [Ex 3:1-10]
35“This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the very one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer, with the [protecting and helping] hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. [Ex 2:14] 36This man led them out [of Egypt] after performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. [Ex 7:3; 14:21; Num 14:33] 37This is the Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a Prophet #7:37 Or as He raised up me.like me from your countrymen.’ [Deut 18:15, 18] 38This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles [divine words that still live] to be handed down to you. [Ex 19] 39Our fathers were unwilling to be subject to him [and refused to listen to him]. They rejected him, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. [Num 14:3, 4] 40They said to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ [Ex 32:1, 23] 41In those days they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced and celebrated over the works of their hands. [Ex 32:4, 6] 42But God turned away [from them] and handed them over to serve the #7:42 A mythological group of gods represented by the heavenly bodies and constellations.host of heaven. As it is written and forever remains written in the book of the prophets, ‘It was not [really] to Me that you offered victims and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, was it, O house of Israel? [Jer 19:13] 43You also took along the tabernacle (portable temple) of Moloch and the star of the god Rompha, the images which you made to worship; and I will remove you beyond Babylon [carrying you away into exile].’ [Amos 5:25-27]
44“Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as God directed Moses to make it according to the pattern which he had seen. [Ex 25:9-40] 45Our fathers also brought it in [with them into the land] with Joshua when they dispossessed the #7:45 Or Gentiles.nations whom God drove out before our fathers, [and so it remained here] until the time of David, [Deut 32:49; Josh 3:14-17] 46who found favor (grace, spiritual blessing) in the sight of God and asked that he might [be allowed to] find a dwelling place for the #7:46 The earliest mss read house instead of “God”; the Septuagint reads God.God of Jacob. [2 Sam 7:8-16; Ps 132:1-5] 47But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. [1 Kin 6] 48However, the Most High [the One infinitely exalted above humanity] does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet [Isaiah] says, [1 Kin 8:27]
49‘Heaven is My throne,
And the earth is the footstool for My feet;
What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord,
‘Or what place is there for My rest?
50‘Was it not My hand that made all these things?’ [Is 66:1, 2]
51“You stiff-necked and stubborn people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are always actively resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just as your fathers did. [Ex 33:3, 5; Num 27:14; Is 63:10; Jer 6:10; 9:26] 52Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; 53you who received the law as ordained and delivered to you by angels, and yet you did not obey it!”
Stephen Put to Death
54Now when #7:54 This would include the members of the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) and those witnessing the proceedings.they heard this [accusation and understood its implication], they were cut to the heart, and they began grinding their teeth [in rage] at him. 55But he, being full of the Holy Spirit and led by Him, gazed into heaven and saw the glory [the great splendor and majesty] of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56and he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened up [in welcome] and #7:56 The vision acknowledged Stephen’s right standing with God.the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and together rushed at him [considering him guilty of blasphemy]. 58Then they drove him out of the city and began stoning him; and the witnesses placed their outer robes at the feet of a young man named #7:58 At this time Saul (later known as the apostle Paul) was an active and devoted Pharisee.Saul. [Acts 22:20] 59They continued stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive and accept and welcome my spirit!” 60Then falling on his knees [in worship], he cried out loudly, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them [do not charge them]!” When he had said this, he fell asleep [in death].
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Acts 7
7
1And the chief priest said, ‘Are then these things so?’
2and he said, ‘Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken: The God of the glory did appear to our father Abraham, being in Mesopotamia, before his dwelling in Haran,
3and He said to him, Go forth out of thy land, and out of thy kindred, and come to a land that I shall shew thee.
4‘Then having come forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, he dwelt in Haran, and from thence, after the death of his father, He did remove him to this land wherein ye now dwell,
5and He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a footstep, and did promise to give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him — he having no child.
6‘And God spake thus, That his seed shall be sojourning in a strange land, and they shall cause it to serve, and shall do it evil four hundred years,
7and the nation whom they shall serve I will judge, said God; and after these things they shall come forth and shall do Me service in this place.
8‘And He gave to him a covenant of circumcision, and so he begat Isaac, and did circumcise him on the eighth day, and Isaac [begat] Jacob, and Jacob — the twelve patriarchs;
9and the patriarchs, having been moved with jealousy, sold Joseph to Egypt, and God was with him,
10and did deliver him out of all his tribulations, and gave him favour and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he did set him — governor over Egypt and all his house.
11‘And there came a dearth upon all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great tribulation, and our fathers were not finding sustenance,
12and Jacob having heard that there was corn in Egypt, sent forth our fathers a first time;
13and at the second time was Joseph made known to his brethren, and Joseph's kindred became manifest to Pharaoh,
14and Joseph having sent, did call for his father Jacob, and all his kindred — with seventy and five souls —
15and Jacob went down to Egypt, and died, himself and our fathers,
16and they were carried over into Sychem, and were laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in money from the sons of Emmor, of Sychem.
17‘And according as the time of the promise was drawing nigh, which God did swear to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,
18till another king rose, who had not known Joseph;
19this one, having dealt subtilely with our kindred, did evil to our fathers, causing to expose their babes, that they might not live;
20in which time Moses was born, and he was fair to God, and he was brought up three months in the house of his father;
21and he having been exposed, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up, and did rear him to herself for a son;
22and Moses was taught in all wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in words and in works.
23‘And when forty years were fulfilled to him, it came upon his heart to look after his brethren, the sons of Israel;
24and having seen a certain one suffering injustice, he did defend, and did justice to the oppressed, having smitten the Egyptian;
25and he was supposing his brethren to understand that God through his hand doth give salvation; and they did not understand.
26‘On the succeeding day, also, he shewed himself to them as they are striving, and urged them to peace, saying, Men, brethren are ye, wherefore do ye injustice to one another?
27and he who is doing injustice to the neighbour, did thrust him away, saying, Who set thee a ruler and a judge over us?
28to kill me dost thou wish, as thou didst kill yesterday the Egyptian?
29‘And Moses fled at this word, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons,
30and forty years having been fulfilled, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sinai a messenger of the Lord, in a flame of fire of a bush,
31and Moses having seen did wonder at the sight; and he drawing near to behold, there came a voice of the Lord unto him,
32I [am] the God of thy fathers; the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. ‘And Moses having become terrified, durst not behold,
33and the Lord said to him, Loose the sandal of thy feet, for the place in which thou hast stood is holy ground;
34seeing I have seen the affliction of My people that [is] in Egypt, and their groaning I did hear, and came down to deliver them; and now come, I will send thee to Egypt.
35‘This Moses, whom they did refuse, saying, Who did set thee a ruler and a judge? this one God a ruler and a redeemer did send, in the hand of a messenger who appeared to him in the bush;
36this one did bring them forth, having done wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years;
37this is the Moses who did say to the sons of Israel: A prophet to you shall the Lord your God raise up out of your brethren, like to me, him shall ye hear.
38‘This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the messenger who is speaking to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers who did receive the living oracles to give to us;
39to whom our fathers did not wish to become obedient, but did thrust away, and turned back in their hearts to Egypt,
40saying to Aaron, Make to us gods who shall go on before us, for this Moses, who brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, we have not known what hath happened to him.
41‘And they made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands,
42and God did turn, and did give them up to do service to the host of the heaven, according as it hath been written in the scroll of the prophets: Slain beasts and sacrifices did ye offer to Me forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43and ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan — the figures that ye made to bow before them, and I will remove your dwelling beyond Babylon.
44‘The tabernacle of the testimony was among our fathers in the wilderness, according as He did direct, who is speaking to Moses, to make it according to the figure that he had seen;
45which also our fathers having in succession received, did bring in with Joshua, into the possession of the nations whom God did drive out from the presence of our fathers, till the days of David,
46who found favour before God, and requested to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob;
47and Solomon built Him an house.
48‘But the Most High in sanctuaries made with hands doth not dwell, according as the prophet saith:
49The heaven [is] My throne, and the earth My footstool; what house will ye build to Me? saith the Lord, or what [is] the place of My rest?
50hath not My hand made all these things?
51‘Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and in ears! ye do always the Holy Spirit resist; as your fathers — also ye;
52which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed those who declared before about the coming of the Righteous One, of whom now ye betrayers and murderers have become,
53who received the law by arrangement of messengers, and did not keep [it].’
54And hearing these things, they were cut to the hearts, and did gnash the teeth at him;
55and being full of the Holy Spirit, having looked stedfastly to the heaven, he saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56and he said, ‘Lo, I see the heavens having been opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.’
57And they, having cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and did rush with one accord upon him,
58and having cast him forth outside of the city, they were stoning [him] — and the witnesses did put down their garments at the feet of a young man called Saul —
59and they were stoning Stephen, calling and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;’
60and having bowed the knees, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lord, mayest thou not lay to them this sin;’ and this having said, he fell asleep.
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